


After the War Comes Silence

by TheSmallestThings



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bruce Banner Is a Good Bro, But it’s not a team fix it, Civil War Team Iron Man, Gen, Hurt Tony Stark, Injury, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, Not A Fix-It, Panic Attacks, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony-centric, Well I mean it’s a A:IW fix it, author is salty about civil war
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-08-22 12:27:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16597916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSmallestThings/pseuds/TheSmallestThings
Summary: With the victory of the Mad Titan, Thanos, and Tony Stark stuck alone on Titan, there seems to be no hope of recovery from anyone. Words ring in Tony's head, promises of a family, oftogether. They were always going to lose, but one thing was damn sure in the universe: It was never going to be together.But now Tony's back on Earth with a little help, and despite his qualms, he quickly realizes that while the team was never really a team, they needed each other one last time. And well, Tony knows damn well he'll always be the scapegoat, but this time he has a feeling that the knife will stick, whether in his heart... Or in his back.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hahahahaha yeah so I maybe started another story despite the fact that I never finished up my first one. Oops? Sorry guys, I know I'm an asshole, but I'm an asshole with a busy schedule.
> 
> Either way, enjoy this trainwreck lol.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahahahaha yeah so I maybe started another story despite the fact that I never finished up my first one. Oops? Sorry guys, I know I'm an asshole, but I'm an asshole with a busy schedule.
> 
> Either way, enjoy this trainwreck lol.

_”How were you guys planning on beating that?” He knew something was coming. Even if they didn’t believe him, even if they hated him for it, he knew, and he wasn’t planning on letting the earth stay defenseless._

_And yet Rogers responded, this…_ look _...on his face, like the answer was obvious, ”Together.”_

 _”We’ll lose.” Tony couldn’t show his desperation, how sure he was, but they needed to know, they_ had _to know what was coming--_

_”Then we’ll do that together too.”_

Except they didn’t, did they? They lost. Horrifically. Separated.

Just like he had been saying. Just like he had predicted. Now, there was nothing but blood and tears and dust filled air, all building up and blocking his lungs until he couldn’t help but spiral into a panic and all of the sudden it hit him that he was alone on an unknown planet, with no backup and no way home and--

“Was he family?”

The voice was calm, careful. Tony didn’t know why, but that only made the situation worse. The blue… alien… was speaking to him and there was a trace of sorrow in her voice and he opened his mouth to speak--

And choked on a sob.

Peter.

_Peter..._

He was still so young, he was still a child and he didn’t-- he didn’t fucking deserve that-- he shouldn’t have even been here-- it should of been him instead!

There was a cold hand on his shoulder, and Tony flinched, pulling away and grunting in pain when the movement pulled on his wound, grounding him.

Shit. He was stabbed. He forgot about that.

God, he just wanted to go home. He just wanted to see Rhodey and kiss Pepper and tell Happy how glad he was to see him but he couldn’t. He didn’t even know if they had survived. If they-- no. 

They couldn’t be gone too.

If they were… dead… if he had failed them again.

He would never forgive himself. Never.

Once again, the alien (and jesus he needed to learn her name because he couldn’t very well just keep calling her “the alien,” that was just rude,) spoke again, even softer than last time,

“Where are you from?”

His response was tight, clipped, “Earth.”

“I’m sure you would like to return home then. There is no point in staying here. You can get nothing done by weeping rather than acting.”

Tony could have gotten upset, would have, if he wasn’t so goddamn numb, “There’s no way back.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted her shaking her head no.

“What do you mean no?”

“Quill and his group brought their ship here. It’s just a matter of finding it and making sure it wasn’t damaged. I can pilot it, you’re injured.”

He shouldn’t trust her--

“Do you really have a choice in that matter? I am your only way home.”

And oh, he said it out loud. Wonderful.

“Stay here. I’ll be back when I find the ship.”

It wasn’t as though he had a choice. All he could do was stave off the panic crawling up his chest, tendrils of anxiety tightening and reminding him all that went wrong, all that could have gone better. Even the things that normally would have calmed him down were tainted with blood, with dust, with betrayal. The realization hit him that even back home, back on earth, he might still be alone. If his family… if the family that he made for himself was gone, he’d have to face _them_ again and he was… He was exhausted. Any smug comments he could shoot their way was soured, fell flat on his tongue. Maybe they could have beat Thanos together, but they weren’t together. Were they ever truly together? There were moments where he didn’t know, couldn’t really tell. Anything he thought was a sign of a family was quickly covered up but the bitterness of betrayal, by the sickening urge to scream as loud as he could, knowing that nobody would hear him. And the thoughts of something more… of something that maybe, just maybe, could have been great, were covered by snow in the freezing Siberian winds with a half-assed apology.

“I found the ship. It’s not damaged too badly, we should be able to make the few jumps to Earth and land without an issue.”

Stark looked up and nodded, moving to stand up and wincing as the woman(?) reached out to help him up.

“I never got your name.”

“Nebula.”

“Thank you. I’m--”

“Tony Stark. I’ve heard of you.”

On a normal day, he would have questioned her, tried to pry an answer as to why she knew his name, but today he was just… too tired to care. Most of all, he just wanted to go home and do a headcount and regroup.

“You don’t want to know how?”

“Honestly, I could care less how you know about me. It’s been a long ass day and I… I don’t really think you’re a threat to my life. And if you are? It’s to the point where I’ve just stopped giving a shit.”

“Fair enough,” She muttered, moving to carefully set him into one of the chairs. She watched as he strapped in, starting the ship as gently as she could. Any way she did it, the jumps would be painful on his wound, but there wasn’t exactly an option that would be quicker. She could always…

Yes, that might work.

“Hold on, there might be a medical kit in here. Should be something to help the pain.”

“Don’t need it.”

“Bullshit. Give me a second and I’ll find it for you.”

“Don’t worry about it, just get us to Earth.”

She should’ve let it go, stopped arguing with him, but something told her that he needed to stay safe.

“There’s a chance you won’t make it to Earth if you’re injured this badly. I’ll find the kit and get it to you. Now sit back and shut up.”

Shockingly, he did as she asked as she rifled through the ship, finally finding what she was looking for.

“Here,” She held out the patch gingerly.

“What is that?”

“Pain patch. For the wound. Put it on.”

“Is it safe for humans--?”

“It’s safe. Put it on so we can get going. Hurry up.”

He flinched as he applied it, but quickly relaxed, some of the tension draining from his shoulders as he sat back into the seat and watched Nebula pilot the ship up and out of Titan’s atmosphere into the blackness of space.

The exhaustion finally caught up to him though, and he was out like a light in a moment.

\---

Colonel James Rhodes was in a panic. 

Tony had disappeared, nowhere to be found, people had been… turning into dust… left and right and nobody knew what to do… and then FRIDAY alerted him to an incoming craft entering the Earth’s upper atmosphere.

“Rogers. Rogers!”

The Captain looked up, his whole body looking as drained as they all felt, yet as soon as Rhodey spoke, he was on high alert once again.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“There’s,” God, was it always this hard to catch his breath? “There’s a ship entering our atmosphere. FRIDAY is trying to make contact, but so far there hasn’t been any response,”

“Is it hostile?”

“I don’t- No, I don’t know but I don’t think so.”

“Keep trying to contact. I’ll make sure everyone is on high alert--”

“Tony.”

Steve froze, eyes going wide and vulnerable, “What?”

“It’s got to be Tony. He’s back, he has to be.”

“Until we make communication we can’t be sure--”

FRIDAY decided to speak through Rhodey’s phone, cutting the Captain off.

“Colonel Rhodes, I’ve achieved contact with the craft, they’re trying to actively communicate. They are specifically asking to speak with you.”

“With me?”

“Yes.”

Steve nodded and Rhodey quickly obliged, “Put them through.”

Silence. Then,

_”Rhodey-Bear?”_

 

Throughout the room, an overwhelming sense of relief, and if Rhodey started to cry? Well, no one needed to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyways. A:IW hit me harrrrrd. When Tony got stabbed I'm pretty sure I literally cried out in the theater. Anyways, I love Tony to pieces, but I promise, I love hurting him even more than I love loving him. Anyways, if you're wondering when the other fic will update, I gotta say: I don't really know. I kind of lost inspiration for it and I haven't been feeling it. I don't plan on taking it down but I've gotten to a point in my life where I don't really need to write depressing things to feel better. This is not as depressing as my usual works and honestly I'm so happy about that. Either way, expect an update within the next week or so. If there isn't an update feel free to message me and nag me about it @ www.thesmollestgay.tumblr.com.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An update? Within a week? Like I promised? This must really be a different timeline, huh? Anyways, enjoy me being salty as fuck about Civil War and projecting my frustration onto others who love tony <3

Tony had woken up as the ship closed in on the Earth’s atmosphere, the pressure on his wound reminding him how he had gotten into the situation he had. That, and the voice that spoke as soon as he was awake.

“Something is trying to make contact with the ship, Stark. It’s being incredibly persistent. Do you recognize the energy signature?”

Slowly, carefully, he pushed himself up from the chair and closer to the console. A look of recognition crossed his face and he grinned lightly, “Oh, FRI, girl, you did good.”

Nebula glanced at him, “So you recognize it?”

“It’s one of mine. An artificial intelligence I made. She’s been looking for me.”

“Should I let it through then?”

“Yes. Yes, let it through-- I need- I need to find out if--”

_”Boss?”_

His smile lit up his face, the pain that was previously present disappearing, if only for a moment.

“Hey FRIDAY. Have you been good? Didn’t started any wars while I was gone, did you?”

If it was possible for an AI to sound relieved, FRIDAY had it down, _”It is good to hear from you once again, Boss. I must say that concern for your well-being was widespread. Myself and my siblings included.”_

Oh. _Oh._ DUM-E and U. He didn’t even think about them when he left. He was going to have to apologize somehow, but for now, “FRI, is it possible for me to speak to Rhodey?”

Each second of silence cause his heart to jump up in its rate until--

_”Allowing direct communication to Colonel Rhodes now.”_

Tony heard a click and took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he spoke, “Rhodey-bear?”

_”Tones?”_

 

There were no words to describe the utter relief that flooded through Tony as that familiar voice crackled through the speakers.

“Rhodey…” His voice shook as he wiped away the tears collecting in his eyes, “ _Rhodey_... You’re okay.”

_”Yeah, yeah I’m okay. Are you alright? What happened--”_

“A lot happened, honey-bear, but right now I just want to see you. Can you make sure we can land? Send us the coordinates?”

_”Us?”_

“Just an ally I made. She’s the reason I was able to get back.”

 _”_ Just _her? What about…”_

Tony tensed up, breath catching, “Didn’t make it.”

He heard the sigh, the sadness in the next words, _”Tony, I am so sorry. It’s not your fault though, you can’t blame yourself for what happened.”_

“Can you just make sure we can land safely? There’s things I need to talk to you about that I’d rather not--”

_”Of course, Tony, but you need to know that everyone else is here too--”_

“It’s okay. Just get me home.”

_”I’ve got your back, man. Just get here safely.”_

“Thank you.”

_”I’ll see you soon Tony.”_

 

The coordinates were sent directly to the ship and Nebula plugged them in, sitting back and turning to Tony. She opened her mouth to speak, but was met with a small shake of his head, asking for her to hold her tongue. Something felt… off... about the situation, but who was she to make assumptions.

Of course, when they landed, she couldn’t say that she was shocked when she was proven correct.

 

As soon as Tony exited the ship he was encased in a bone-crushing hug, one that was quickly returned as recognition dawned on him.

“Hey Rhodey. I missed you too.”

Tony was gently shoved away and met with a glare, one that was only softened by the water pooling in the other man’s eyes, “I swear to god, Tones, don’t you _ever_ fucking do that again,” Still, he chuckled and pulled him back in, “How many times am I going to have to tell you that, and how many times are you going to ignore me?”

Both the men were tearing up now, clinging onto the other like a lifeline.

The smaller man rested his head on the Colonel’s shoulder, “I don’t know, honey-bear, and I’m sorry. Really. I’ll always be sorry when I do this to you.”

“Just… Tell me next time you plan on disappearing into space, alright?”

A wet chuckle and then, “Okay. You’re the best, you know that?”

“Yeah man, I know. I know.”

 

A clearing throat pulled the two apart, and Tony tensed immediately as he noticed who it came from.

“Tony,” Steve was smiling gently, eyes looking hopeful as he reached out, “We were worried, I’m glad to see you’re alright--”

“Shut the hell up and back away from me Rogers.”

At the billionaire’s reaction and step backwards, his smile fell, “What?”

“You heard me. Don’t fucking come near me, Rogers.”

And back was the cold blue steel. The kind that reminded Tony of the same eyes that stared into his as cold, hard metal slammed down into the chestpiece and splintered and broke the glass and his only protection and Stane was back-- he was ripping out his heart-- his body was going numb he was going to die here, all alone, the metal was inching towards his heart--

“Steve! Back the fuck up! Stand down!” Rhodey’s arm curled protectively around Tony as he pulled him behind him, recognizing the blind panic curling through his best friend, his brother.

“What the hell is going on? What’s wrong with Tony?” Bruce was looking between the group for answers, but none of them would meet his eyes, “Steve, what the _hell_ happened while I was gone?” His voice had grown more desperate then, concern lacing every word. No matter what happened, Tony would always be his friend and... well... he hadn’t seen him this bad in years.

But when Steve opened his mouth to speak, the words fell flat before they could even leave his lips. Romanoff spoke for him, “Bruce, there was a fallout of sorts, things didn’t really go well between the sides...”

“No, I got that-- I completely understand that part, I’m just confused as to what happened that’s making Tony react like this towards someone he would have trusted with his life.”

Still, no one responded, and the seconds dragged on, the silence only filled by Stark's breathing.

And then Tony decided he wasn't going to just break the silence.

_He was going to shatter it._

“So much for _together_ , right Cap?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay but like... thanks for the great response to the first chapter, I really appreciate it! Again, thank you for all of those who bookmarked and left kudos, but a special thanks to commentors, you guys really make me enjoy writing for you! Hope these next few chapters bring all that you want and more! Please show some support either here on this work directly or on my tumblr @ www.thesmollestgay.tumblr.com ! Thanks!

**Author's Note:**

> Anyways. A:IW hit me harrrrrd. When Tony got stabbed I'm pretty sure I literally cried out in the theater. Anyways, I love Tony to pieces, but I promise, I love hurting him even more than I love loving him. Anyways, if you're wondering when the other fic will update, I gotta say: I don't really know. I kind of lost inspiration for it and I haven't been feeling it. I don't plan on taking it down but I've gotten to a point in my life where I don't really need to write depressing things to feel better. This is not as depressing as my usual works and honestly I'm so happy about that. Either way, expect an update within the next week or so. If there isn't an update feel free to message me and nag me about it @ www.thesmollestgay.tumblr.com.


End file.
